The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1887-09-14

The Trials and Rewards of Christian
Hospitality-The Toll and Expense of
Exercising It-A Pretty Custom Among
the Greeks.
TIE HANrToSs, Sept. 1.-THE Rev.
DIR. T. DE Witt Talmage's text today
was from Romans xii, 10: "Given TO
hospitality and his discourse as fol-
lows:
There is danger that the multiplica-
ton Of large and conmodious hotels in
our towns and cities and villages will
utterly exterminate that grace which
Abraham exhibited when he entertained
the angels, and which Lot showed when
he watched for guests at the gate of the
city, and which Christ recognized as
positive requisite for entering heaven
when he declared: II was a stranger and
ye took me in.
! propose to speak this morning Of the
trials and rewards of Christian hospital
ity. The first trial often comes in the
within and eccentricity of the guest him
self. There are a great many excellent
people who have protuberances of dis
position and sharp edges of temperament,
and unpliability Of character, which
Aidhf tiitih a ItioittNt III
house where they stay. On short ac-
quaintaDce they viii begin to command
the household affairs, order the employees
10 unusual service, keep unreasonable
hours, use narcotics i'll places offensive to
sensitive nostrils, put their feet at un-
usual elevations, drop the ashes Of their
Havana on costly tapestry, open bureaus
they ought never to touch and pry into
H..
come impervious to rousing bells,
and have all the peculiarities Of the
gormandizer or the dyspeptic, and make
excavations from poor dentistry with
unusual implements, and in a thousand
ways afflict the household which proposes
20 take care Of them. Added to all, they
stay too long. They have no idea when
their welcome is worn out, and they
would be unmoved even by the blessing
which my friend Ger1it Smith, the phil
anthrOpist, asked one morning at his
breakfast table, on the day when he hoped
that the long protracted guests would de-
part saying: 30 Lord, bless this provision
and our friends who leave us today
But, my friends, there are alleviations to
be put ON their side Of the scale. Perhaps
they have not had the same refining in
fluences about them in early life that you
have had Perhaps they have inherited
eccentricities that they cannot help.
Perhaps 1t is your duty, by example, to
show them a better way. Perhaps they
are sent TO Ike n trial for the development
of your patience. Perhaps they were to
be intended as an illustration of the op-
posite Of what you are trying TO inculcate
in the minds of your children. Perhaps
it is 10 make your home the brighter when
they are gone. When our guests are
CHEEKY and fascinating and elegant it is
very easy to entertain them; but when
we find in our guests that which is an
tagonistic to our taste and sentiment, it is
positive triumph when we can obey the
words of my text, and be given to
hospitality"
Another trial in the using of this grace
is in the toll and expense of exercising it.
In the well regulated household things go
smoothly, but now you have introduced
foreign element into the machinery,
and though you may stoutly declare that
they must take things as they find them,
the Martha will break in. The ungov-
ernable stove; the ruined dessert; the
joint that proves to be unmasticahle; the
delayed marketing; the perplexities of a
caterer; the difficulty of doing proper
work, and yet always being presentable.
Though you may say there shall be no
care o. anxiety, there will be care and
there will be anxiety. In 1894 the cap
tain general provided a very grand en-
tertainment, and among other thinCs
ne had "A fountain in his garden-a
fountain Of strong drink. In it were
four hogsheads of brandy, eight hogs
heads of water, $4,000 lemons, thirteen
hundredweight of Lisbon sugar, five
pounds of grated nutmeg, 800 toasted
biscuit, and boat built on purpose was
placed in the foh'~sslin and boy rowed
around it and filed the cups of the peo-
pie who came there to be supplied. Well,
yJu Say. that was a luxurious entertain
ment, and of course the man had no
anxiety; but l have to tell you that,
though you had or propose an entertain
ment like that, you have anxiety. In
that very thing comes the divine re-
ward. We were born to serve, and when
we serve others, we serve God. The flush
on that woman s cheek, as she bends over
the hot stove, is as sacred in Gods sight
as the flush ON the cheek of one who, ON
hot day, breaches the Gospel. We may
pCINt oVl WIFI Dltlts anu
broom, as certainly as we can serve him
with psalm book and liturgy. Margaret,
queen of Norway, and Sweden, and Den
mark had n royal cup of ten lips, on
which were recorded the names of the
guests who had drunk from this cup.
And every Christian woman has royal
cup, on which are written all the names
of those who have ever been entertained
by human ingenuity, but written by the
hand of divine Jesus. But, my friends,
you are not to toll unnecessarily. Though
the fare be plain, cheerful presidency of
the table, and cleanliness of appointments
will be good enough for anybody that
ever comes to your house. John Howard
was invited 10 the house of nobleman.
He said: II will come ON one condition,
and that is that you have nothing but
potatoes on the table" The requisition
was complied with. Cyrus, king of
Persia, under the same circumstances,
prescribed that on the table there must be
nothing but bread. OF course, these were
extremes, but they are illustrations of the
fact that more depends upon the banquet
ers than upon the banquet. / want
to lift this idea of Christian entertain
ment out of positive bondage into
n glorious inducement Every effort
you put forth, and every dollar you
give to the entertainment of friend or foe,
you give directly to Christ. Suppose it
were announced that the Lord Jesus
Christ would come to this place this week,
what woman in this house would not be
glad to wash for him, or spread for him
led, or lake bread for him? There
was one of old who washed for him,
drawing the water from the well of her
own tears. He is coming. He will be
here tomorrow. .'Inasmuch as We have
done it TO one Of the least of these. my
brethren, ye have done it to me- In
picture galleries we have often seen
representations of Walter Scott and his
friends. or Washington Irving with his
associates: but all those engravings will
fade out, while through everlasting ages,
hanging luminous and conspicuous. will
be the pictures of you and your Christian
guests.
You see we have passed out from the
trials into the rewards of Christian hos
pitahty; grand, glorious and eternal
The first reward of Christian hospitality
is the divine benediction. When any one
attends to this duty. Gods blessing comes
upon him, upon his companion, upon his
children. upon his dining hall, upon his
parlor, upon his nursery. The blessing
comes in mt the front door. and the back
door, and down through the skylights.
God draws long mark OF credit for ser
vices received. Christ said to his disciples:
HE that receiveth you. receiveth me; and
he that giveth cup of cold water in the
name of a disciple shall i'm no wise lose
his reward. = As we have had so many